Self-propelled water toy

ABSTRACT

A water toy and method for its use includes providing a water toy comprising a body cavity having a variable volume defined by a resiliently biased wall, such as bellows arranged about a long axis of the cavity, and an aperture defined at a rear portion of the body cavity. The body cavity is then manually expanded from a rest state to an expanded state and allowed to be filled with water while in the expanded state. The water toy is then released in water so that the body cavity naturally contracts toward the rest state and thereby forces water from the contracting body cavity out the aperture to form a water jet that propels the water toy through the water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a toy, and more particularly to aself-propelled water toy that moves under action of a naturallycontracting volume that forces water out through an aperture within thetoy to form a water jet that propels the toy through the water.

Self-propelled water toys typically include some type of mechanism topropel the toy through or under the water. Some use chemical agents,some electrical propulsion such as with batteries, and some convertpotential energy to mechanical energy such as a wound rubber-bandturning a propeller or impeller. Some examples of underwater toysinclude U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,023 to Warner titled “Hand LaunchableHydrodynamic Recreational Vehicle,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,577 toThorne, III titled “Underwater Device and Method of Play,” (hereinafterThorne). Such devices have drawbacks such as increased weight due toneutral buoyancy, thus increasing shipping costs, or decreased abilityto remain upright within the water so that the device movesunrealistically compared to underwater sea creatures and submarines.

Accordingly, the need arises for a water toy that takes a differentapproach to these problems and for overcoming the drawbacks of the priorart.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A water toy and method for its use includes providing a water toycomprising a body cavity having a variable volume defined by aresiliently biased wall and an aperture defined at a rear portion of thebody cavity. That is, the volume of the body cavity is capable ofnaturally contracting under action of the resiliently biased wall. Thebody cavity is then manually expanded from a rest state to an expandedstate and allowed to be filled with water while in the expanded state.The water toy is then released in water so that the body cavitynaturally contracts toward the rest state and thereby forces water fromthe contracting body cavity out the aperture to form a water jet thatpropels the water toy through the water. In a preferred embodiment, thebody cavity is bounded by a bellows arranged circumferentially about along axis of the body cavity and configured to expand and contract in adirection coaxial with the long axis.

The invention further includes a method for propelling a water toy of atype comprising a body cavity having a variable volume defined by aresiliently biased wall arranged circumferentially about a long axis ofthe body cavity and an aperture defined at a rear portion of the bodycavity. The method includes first manually expanding the body cavityfrom a rest state to an expanded state and allowing the body cavity tobe filled with water while in the expanded state so that the water issubstantially captured within the resiliently biased wall. The water toyis then released in water so that the body cavity naturally contractstoward the rest state and thereby forcing water from the contractingbody cavity out the aperture to form a water jet that propels the watertoy through the water

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention that proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-propelled water toy constructedaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view in section of the self-propelled watertoy of FIG. 1 shown in a contracted or rest state.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view in section of the self-propelled watertoy of FIG. 1 shown in water in a fully expanded state.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view in section of the self-propelled watertoy of FIG. 1 shown naturally contracting through an intermediateexpanded state with water being forced out a back end of the water toyas a toy-propelling water jet.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view in section of a front end of theself-propelled water toy of FIG. 1 showing a valve in an open state.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of the method for using the self-propelled watertoy of FIG. 1 and its subsequent movement through time and space.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of an alternate embodiment of theinvention shown in partial section and especially configured to travelsnear or at the surface of the water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is a water toy that includes a rigid front and back endconnected by a resilient bellows or other type of resiliently biasablematerial. When coupled together, the toy includes a hollow interior witha volume that can be manually expanded—this is accomplished by grabbingthe rigid front and back ends of the toy and pulling them apart totherefore expand the bellows section.

In one embodiment described, the front end includes a one-way valve tolet water in to the hollow interior. In a preferred embodiment, thevalve can include among others a gravity valve, a valve with a slightbias against the sealing surface, or one that is forced open or closedby a pressure differential between the exterior of the toy and thehollow interior. The back end of the toy funnels to an opening.

In use, air is evacuated from the hollow interior by placing the toy inwater and filling the interior with water. The bellows, formed ofrubber, is then pulled apart to expand the interior and increase theamount of water in the toy. When filled, the toy is placed along thebottom of a bathtub and let go. The contracting action of the bellowsforces the water out the back end as a jet, thus propelling the toyforward. Due to careful weighting, the toy remains upright and movesgenerally horizontally and does not tip or roll over. In particular,there is an air cavity or volume filled with impermeable material thatis less dense than water (e.g. close-cell foam) formed at an upper endof the front and back that makes the bottom correspondingly heavier.

The fish is put under the water tail up. After it fills up one grabs thenose and tail and stretches the fish apart. The valve in the nose allowsthe water to fill the fish body more easily. Depending upon how it isreleased and how much air may be left in the fish, it will move alongthe top or along the bottom or in between.

FIG. 1 illustrates self-propelled water toy 10 in perspective view. Toy10 includes front rigid portion 12 and back rigid portion 14 arrangedabout a long axis 16 of the toy 10 in spaced apart configuration. Anelastic body 18, also arranged about long axis 16, spans between thespaced front and back rigid portions 12, 14 to form a water toy bodyhaving a substantially enclosed variable-volume cavity 20 [see, e.g.,FIG. 2] adapted to admit a fluid therein. As will be appreciated furtherbelow, these portions are adapted to be grasped by a user and used topull front and back portions 12, 14 further apart to thereby expandelastic body 18 coaxially with long axis 16 and thereby increase thevolume of cavity 20.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show water toy 10, and particularly elastic body 20, in acontracted or rest state. In a preferred embodiment, elastic body isdefined by a resiliently biased wall 22 arranged circumferentially aboutlong axis 16 and configured to allow manual expansion of the cavityvolume from a rest state (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to an expandedstate (as shown in FIG. 3) to admit more fluid—i.e. water—into thecavity. The resiliently biased wall includes bellows shown by folds inthe resiliently biased wall 22. The bellows are preferably made of arubber material. In a rest state, the peaks of the folds are arranged adistance D_(R) apart. In a fully expanded state, as shown in FIG. 3, thepeaks of the bellow folds are arranged a distance D_(E) apart. In anintermediate expanded state, after the elastic body 20 has undergonesome contraction as shown in FIG. 4, the peaks of the bellow folds arearranged a distance D_(I) apart, where D_(R)<D_(I)<D_(E).

A front portion of water toy 10, such as front rigid portion 12,includes a hydrodynamically shaped outer shell 24 having curved surfacesthat minimize drag while the toy 10 moves through the water. It ispreferred that the water toy 10 remain upright while moving throughwater to better simulate a living object. The embodiment shown in FIGS.1-6 has the appearance of a fish, including eyes 26 and proximal fins 28located on front end of the body and distal fins 30 and a tail section32 located on a back end of the body. Fins 28, 30 and tail section 32act as stabilizing foil surfaces that provide resistance to the watertoy 10 rotating around its long axis 16 while underwater and assist inallowing the toy to move forward along a substantially straight path.

To further maintain the water toy 10 in an upright position within thewater, front and back sections 12, 14 are weighted differently betweenupper and lower sections. In the embodiment shown, an upper section ofrigid front portion 12 includes a sealed cavity or air chamber 34 withinthe upper section of the toy. As air chamber 34 is sealed, it does notform part of the fluid-admitting cavity 20 of the water toy 10.Furthermore, the air chamber's placement in an upper section of the toygives lift to that front section so that, when submerged in water, theupper section remains above the water-filled lower section. In similarfashion, an upper section of the rigid rear portion 14 of the toy 10 mayalso include a sealed cavity or air chamber 36. Proper sizing of thefront and rear air chambers 34, 36 allow the water toy 10 to be weightedproperly from front to back so that the water toy 10 moves substantiallylevel within the water.

Front section 12 further includes a fill aperture 38 located on a frontend of the toy 10 through which water is admitted into the cavity 20. Asealing part 40 is moveable to uncover the fill aperture 38 when thewater toy is immersed in water, thus creating a pressure differentialbetween the water on the outside of the toy and the air on the inside ofthe toy. Expansion of cavity 20 via the resiliently biased wall 22further creates a lower pressure on the inside of the toy whichmaintains the sealing part 40 in an open position. Contraction of thecavity, such as when the toy is released as described below, creates ahigher pressure within the cavity than the outside which maintains thesealing part 40 in a closed position.

Alternately, in a gravity valve arrangement, the sealing part 40 fallsopen when toy 10 is tilted face-down, that is substantiallyperpendicular to a direction of travel of the water toy. Additionally,the sealing part 40 is moveable to cover the fill aperture when thewater toy is tilted upright, that is substantially parallel to thedirection of travel through the water. Sealing part 40 is formed of asealing head 42, sized larger than fill aperture 38, which is coupled toouter shell 24 of the water toy 10 by a flexible arm 44. FIG. 2 showssealing part 40 covering fill aperture 38 when the water toy 10 is in ahorizontal orientation or otherwise situated in an environment wherethere is a pressure differential between the upper and lower surfaces ofthe sealing part 40 (e.g. FIG. 3). In a gravity valve arrangement,gravity acts on the sealing head 42 to force it downward and therebybend flexible arm 44. In an alternate pressure valve arrangement, thepressure differential either sucks the valve down onto the valve seat orforces it open.

Turning next to a rear portion of the water toy 10, an exit aperture 46is defined within the back rigid portion 14 in fluid communication withthe cavity 20 of toy 10. Exit aperture 46 is defined along the long axisof the body cavity 20 through which fluid within the cavity is forced asthe cavity volume contracts under action of the elastic body 20, as bycontraction of the bellows of the resiliently biased wall 22. Water toy10 preferable includes a funnel 48 interposed between the body cavity 20and the exit aperture 46. The funnel includes an inner wall 50 having acontinuously decreasing radius, as measured from long axis 16, from afirst end adjacent the body cavity 20 to a second end adjacent the exitaperture 46.

FIG. 3 illustrates water toy 10 in a fully expanded condition within atub of water 52 where a user had grasped front and back portions 12, 14and pulled them further apart to thereby expand the bellows definingelastic body 18 and drawing water into the expanded cavity 20. Water maybe drawn in through exit aperture 46, but its relatively small sizemakes the fill process slow. The relatively larger fill aperture 38 ismore preferred for filling the expanded cavity. The process for fillingcavity 20 with water through fill aperture 38 is explained more fullybelow with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 4 illustrates water toy 10 in an intermediate expanded conditionwithin a tub of water 52 where a user has released the toy from itsexpanded condition (FIG. 3) thus allowing the elastic body 18 andassociated cavity 20 to contract toward their rest state. Note that whenunder contraction, the elastic body 18 forces water from within thecavity out open apertures. As the fill aperture 38 at the front of thewater toy 10 has been closed by sealing part 40, water from within thecavity 20 can only move backward through exit aperture 46. Movement ofthe water through funnel 48 increases the speed at which the water exitsaperture 46 so that the water forms a rearwardly directed water jet 54.Water exiting the water toy 10 in jet 54 forces the water toy forwardopposite to the direction of the jet 54, e.g. in the direction shown bymovement arrow 56.

FIG. 5 illustrates in section the front rigid portion 12 of a preferredembodiment of the self-propelled water toy 10. Sealing part 40 is shownin an unsealed position relative to fill aperture 38. Part 40 includes asealing head 42 with a sealing expanse on a bottom portion thereof thatis larger than the opening defined by the fill aperture 38. When seatedagainst outer portions of the aperture 38, the sealing head preventswater within cavity 20 from escaping through the fill aperture. The fillaperture 38, and thus the sealing head 42, are configured at an angle tothe front face of the outer shell 24 and to the direction of travel sothat the flow of water into the aperture 38 and against the bottomportion of the sealing head 42 does not force the head open. It isunderstood, however, that the invention is not limited to the placementof the fill aperture 38 and sealing head 42, and that such elements maybe placed on any portion of the toy or not be included at all withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

A flexible arm 44 couples the sealing head 42 to a front portion of theouter shell 24. The arm 44 is configured to allow the sealing head tofall away from the fill aperture 38 opening when the front rigid portion12 is tipped downward as shown by position A in FIG. 6. In the pressurevalve arrangement, the flexible arm 44 allows the sealing head 42 to besucked against the opening 38 when the pressure within the cavity 20 isgreater than outside it (e.g. area 52 in FIG. 3) as when the bellows ofthe toy 10 are contracting and the toy moving through the water.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for propelling water toy 10 through thewater, where the water toy comprises a cavity 20 having a variablevolume defined by a resiliently biased wall, such as wall 22, arrangedcircumferentially about a long axis 16 of the body cavity, and anaperture 46 defined at a rear portion 14 of the body cavity. At positionA, the water toy 10 is positioned face down in the water and submergedto position B so that a closeable aperture, such as fill aperture 38,falls open as shown in FIG. 5 (gravity valve) or is forced open by thepressure differential between the water-filled tub 52 and the air of thecavity 20 (pressure valve). The body cavity is then manually expandedfrom a rest state to an expanded state as by grasping front and rearrigid portions 12, 14 and pulling them away from one another to therebystretch out the bellows of the resiliently biased wall 22. As water isdrawn into the cavity 20 through the open fill aperture 38, it displacesthe air within the cavity that then leaves the cavity 20 out exitaperture 46 and rises to the surface of the water tub 52 via bubbles 58.The water is then substantially captured within the resiliently biasedwall 22.

Once filled with water in an expanded state, the water toy 10 ispositioned horizontally as shown in position C so that the sealing partfalls against the outer surface of the fill aperture, thereby closingit, and the water toy released. The body cavity 20 naturally contractsunder action of the resiliently biased wall 22 toward a rest state andthereby forces water from the contracting body cavity out the exitaperture 46 at the rear of the water toy body. Water exiting through theexit aperture 46 forms a water jet 54 that propels water toy 10 throughthe water 52, as through intermediate contracted position D (e.g. FIG.4) and then fully contracted position E (e.g. FIG. 2).

Depending upon how the toy 10 is released and how much air may be leftin the fish, it will move along the top or along the bottom or inbetween along many different trajectories 60.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment 110 of the self-propelled water toyinvention. The embodiment 110 shown includes nearly identical elementsto that of water toy 10, but includes larger front and rear air chambers134, 136 so that the water toy moves substantially at a surface of thewater 152. Water toy 110 includes front and back rigid portions 112, 114arranged about a long axis 116 in spaced apart configuration with theportions being adapted to be grasped by a user. An elastic body 118spans between the spaced front and back rigid portions 112, 114 and isalso arranged about long axis 116 to form a water toy body having asubstantially enclosed variable-volume cavity 120 adapted to admitfluid—e.g. water—therein.

An exit aperture 146 within the rigid back portion 114 is in fluidcommunication with the cavity 120 and is defined along the long axis 116of the body cavity. Fluid within the cavity 120 forced in a directionopposite to that of a direction of travel of the water toy 110 as thecavity volume contracts under action of the elastic body 118. Theelastic body includes a resiliently biased wall 122 including bellowsarranged about a long axis that is coaxial with the aperture 146 definedat the rear portion 114 of the body cavity 120. Water toy 110 isweighted differently between upper and lower sections so that the toyremains upright within the water. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, aspecific gravity of the water toy 110 when filled with water is lessthan a specific gravity of water displaced by the water toy so that thewater toy moves substantially at an upper surface of the water.

It is preferred that the body of the water toy, particularly the fishembodiment 10 shown in FIGS. 1-6, be made of material that is denserthan water. Flotation is incorporated high in the fish body, via airchambers 34, 36, so that the toy 10 floats right side up. It ispreferred that the floatation properly offset the denser material inorder to make the toy 10 have neutral density with respect to the fluidit moves in. It is further preferred that the center of gravity becentered so that the fish will not go heads or tails up.

As with water toy 10, water toy 110 includes stabilizing foils surfaces128, 130 and a sealing part 140, including a sealing head 142, moveableto uncover the fill aperture 138 when the water toy is tiltedsubstantially parallel to a direction of gravity (as in FIG. 5) andcover the fill aperture when the water toy is tilted substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of gravity (as in FIG. 7).

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is similar to the Loch Ness Monsterwhereby the elongate head and tail stick up above the surface of thewater. This compares with the fish embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6 wherebythe specific gravity of the water toy 10 when filled with water issubstantially similar to a specific gravity of water displaced by thewater toy so that the water toy moves substantially submerged throughthe water as shown in FIG. 6. The Loch-Ness monster embodiment simplyhas larger air chambers, ones that are sufficient to keep the head andtail out of the water. The fish has air chambers that are just largeenough to offset the higher than water density of the plastic and rubbermaterial making its total density is as close to that of water aspossible.

Yet another embodiment takes the form of a usable bottle such as forcontaining soap or shampoo. The plastic of water and other bottles isabout 0.015 thick. It has a pretty high Q—very springy. With deep enoughbellows it should stretch pretty much like the rubber model. The bottleembodiment could have fins that would tend to keep it level as it moves.It could also be molded with air chambers for surface moving toys.

In the simplest version the entire contents of the bottle are used forsoap, bubble bath or whatever. When the bottle is empty a hole is pokedin a designated spot on its end creating the exhaust port. A rotatingcap on the bottle (not a screw top) is set to open position, as whenusing the shampoo. The rocket/submarine/fish is filled with water aswith the first embodiment, the top is closed and the rocket/submarinereleased. The type of top used on thirst aid bottles twists to drink. Aslightly fancier version could have a twist to dispense position and atwist to engage an intake valve position.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in apreferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the inventioncan be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from suchprinciples. I claim all modifications and variation coming within thespirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A self-propelled water toy, comprising: a body cavity having avariable volume defined by a resiliently biased wall arrangedcircumferentially about a long axis of the body cavity and configured toallow manual expansion of the volume from a rest state to an expandedstate to admit more water into the cavity; and an exit aperture definedat a rear portion of the body cavity through which water within thecavity is forced in a direction opposite to a direction of travel of thewater toy as the cavity volume contracts under action of the resilientlybiased wall, the resiliently biased wall including a bellows that iscoaxial with the aperture defined at a rear portion of the body cavityand configured to collapse the variable volume to a rest state in adirection along the long axis.
 2. The self-propelled water toy of claim1, further including a funnel interposed between the body cavity and theaperture, wherein the funnel includes an inner wall having acontinuously decreasing radius from a first end adjacent the body cavityto a second end adjacent the exit aperture.
 3. The self-propelled watertoy of claim 1, wherein the water toy is weighted differently betweenupper and lower sections so that the toy remains upright within thewater.
 4. The self-propelled water toy of claim 3, further includingsealed air chambers formed within the upper section of the toy.
 5. Theself-propelled water toy of claim 4, further including a first airchamber within an upper front section of the toy and a second airchamber within an upper rear section of the toy.
 6. The self-propelledwater toy of claim 1, wherein a specific gravity of the water toy whenfilled with water is substantially similar to a specific gravity ofwater displaced by the water toy.
 7. The self-propelled water toy ofclaim 1, further including a fill aperture located on a front end of thetoy through which water is admitted into the cavity.
 8. Theself-propelled water toy of claim 8, further including a sealing partmoveable to uncover the fill aperture when a pressure differentialexists between an exterior surface of the sealing part and an interiorsurface of the sealing part.
 9. A method for propelling a water toy,comprising: providing a water toy comprising a body cavity having avariable volume defined by a resiliently biased wall arrangedcircumferentially about a long axis of the body cavity and an aperturedefined at a rear portion of the body cavity; manually expanding thebody cavity from a rest state to an expanded state; allowing the bodycavity to be filled with water while in the expanded state so that thewater is substantially captured within the resiliently biased wall; andreleasing the water toy in water so that the body cavity naturallycontracts toward the rest state and thereby forcing water from thecontracting body cavity out the aperture to form a water jet thatpropels the water toy through the water.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the water toy further includes a closable aperture defined at afront portion of the body cavity, the method further including admittingwater through the closable aperture into the body cavity when the cavityis being filled.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the resilientlybiased wall includes a bellows and the method further includes expandingthe bellows to the expanded state while admitting water through theclosable aperture.
 12. The method of claim 11, further includingunsealing the closable aperture when the water toy is tiltedsubstantially parallel to a direction of gravity and sealing theclosable aperture when the water toy is tilted substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of gravity.
 13. A self-propelled watertoy comprising: front and back rigid portions arranged about a long axisin spaced apart configuration with said portions being adapted to begrasped by a user; an elastic body spanning between the spaced front andback rigid portions and arranged about the long axis to form a water toybody having a substantially enclosed variable-volume cavity adapted toadmit a fluid therein; an exit aperture within the back rigid portion influid communication with the cavity and defined along the long axis ofthe body cavity through which fluid within the cavity is forced in adirection opposite to that of a direction of travel of the water toy asthe cavity volume contracts under action of the elastic body.
 14. Theself-propelled water toy of claim 13, wherein the elastic body includesa resiliently biased wall having a bellows arranged about a long axisthat is coaxial with the aperture defined at a rear portion of the bodycavity.
 15. The self-propelled water toy of claim 13, further includinga funnel interposed between the variable-volume cavity and the aperture,wherein the funnel includes an inner wall having a continuouslydecreasing radius from a first end adjacent the variable-volume cavityto a second end adjacent the exit aperture.
 16. The self-propelled watertoy of claim 13, wherein the water toy is weighted differently betweenupper and lower sections so that the toy remains upright within thewater.
 17. The self-propelled water toy of claim 13, wherein a specificgravity of the water toy when filled with water is substantially similarto a specific gravity of water displaced by the water toy so that thewater toy moves substantially submerged through the water.
 18. Theself-propelled water toy of claim 13, wherein a specific gravity of thewater toy when filled with water is less than a specific gravity ofwater displaced by the water toy so that the water toy movessubstantially at an upper surface of the water.
 19. The self-propelledwater toy of claim 1, further including a fill aperture located on afront end of the toy through which water is admitted into the cavity.20. The self-propelled water toy of claim 8, further including a sealingpart moveable to uncover the fill aperture when the water toy isexpanding and cover the fill aperture when the water toy is contracting.